Recently, Washington University’s Mosaic Project launched its Bias Report and Support System (BRSS) to allow students, faculty and other community members who have experienced incidents of bias, unequal treatment and discrimination to report these issues by submitting an online form on Wash. U.’s diversity website. The BRSS has a trained six-person committee composed of undergraduates, professors, alumni and staff, which will meet with and guide victims through a process meant to provide a resolution to the issue. The University hopes the addition of this team will promote its values of diversity and inclusion.

While the BRSS provides many benefits to Wash. U., there are certain aspects of the system that should be reconsidered. The BRSS gives students flexibility in submitting their reports by allowing students to either submit their incident with their contact information or anonymously. While the former path will usually give the student direct contact from the system, it is unknown how much help a student submitting anonymously will receive. Even if BRSS cannot contact anonymous reporters, there should be a way to provide help to these people as well, whether it be through raising awareness of the issue or speaking on behalf of the student. In helping the victims, the system prefers for the victim to present his or her plan on dealing with the situation and help the victim follow that path. Even though this approach may seem appropriate, not all victims will necessarily know the best plan toward resolving conflict. Having a more structured approach in helping victims come up with a plan may be a better method. All this being said, BRSS does encourage involvement from the police and authorities if the situation is serious enough, which shows its priority in providing safety to students.

The current BRSS committee is well-trained, diverse and experienced in dealing with situations like this; however, the current number of members may not be enough for the long term. With only six people, it’s possible that any one of these people could possibly be unavailable for an issue. Thus, the system should consider expanding the committee by training more individuals who can serve as advisors. Adding a turnover system may be necessary among members of the board to prevent complacency and possible burnout. Furthermore, the system currently doesn’t have an option to select committee members when submitting an issue, which doesn’t seem fair. Students and other members of the community should have the ability to voice who they want to represent them, not the higher-ups. Based on the structure of the committee, it seems that the members do not specialize in certain issues. Perhaps it would be wise to create some sort of specialization among members so that victims have a better idea of whom they should directly talk to after an incident.

While certain improvements should be considered for the BRSS, launching this system is a good step toward creating a more accepting and safer community, and the University should be lauded for doing so. Only time will tell how effective the system is in the Wash. U. community.

Editor’s Note: According to Jessica Wilen, the Mosaic Project Coordinator, the BRSS will add a tenure-track faculty member in the near future and will train six new members next semester. Each team will serve two years, and there will be a total of 13 members. In addition, reporters will have the option to select a team member to work with once the “For Support and Referral” option is selected.